7 Mass. nursing homes settle with state over unsafe conditions

"Systemic failures" led to injuries and deaths of residents, Attorney General Maura Healey said.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, center, was joined by Candi Hitchcock, left, and her sister, Sammi Dawley, during a press conference in Boston on Wednesday.

AP,

March 13, 2019

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts officials have announced settlements with seven nursing homes after a state investigation into complaints of unsafe conditions and substandard care.

Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey says “systemic failures” at the facilities led to injuries and deaths of residents.

The seven homes combined will pay more than $500,000 in fines and have agreed to update their procedures and improve staff training. Among cases cited by Healey was that of an elderly woman who fell 20 separate times at one facility and eventually died from internal bleeding.

Synergy Health Centers, which owns two of the homes, has also agreed not to participate in state-run health care programs for seven years.

Advertisement

Healey says every senior has the right to quality care and every family deserves peace of mind about their loved ones.